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Abstract
Where several distinct agencies are charged with bringing a variety of services
to the agricultural development of a particular zone, implementation of a
consistent set of policies by all the concerned agencies as well as the acceptance
of these policies by farmers, can be complicated by tradeoffs between differing
growth and equity objectives, differing concepts of costs and externalities, and
differing time discount rates.
This paper presents a case study of how three agencies and local farmers have
responded to the complexities of implementing mutually consistent policies for
achieving objectives of growth, equity, and resource conservation in a regional
watershed project area in an erosion zone in Cauca, Colombia. It considers
interactions between agencies and farmers and tradeoffs between soil conservation
and agricultural productivity.
First, the study area and data collection are described. Second, the objectives
and policies of three institutions responsible for different aspects of agricultural
development in the region are discussed. Third, farmer response to policy
implementation at the local level is analyzed; the incentives facing farmers
frequently lead to behaviour at variance with official objectives. Finally, some
implications of this study for problems in planning and implementation are
considered in the context of growth and equity objectives.